Anonymous
Post 04/02/2025 14:34     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
Anonymous wrote:Zero AP courses for my private school kid. Imo, the biggest perk and privlege of private school is the absence of the toxic expectation to take max AP courses. Many AP course curriculums are restrictive, fast paced and dont allow deeper dive into complex topics. Kids often have multiple test retakes which inflates grades. I don't think AP is a reasonable benchmark. We know so many public kids with 4.0 gpa and all AP. Lots of grade inflation so kids kill themselves to get top grades, but when so many have perfect grades, their value is diluted. All AP does not guarantee t20 college. The only AP curriculum winner is College Board that makes lots of $$$ selling the program and tests. Without AP mania, my kid took many advanced classes but not in every discipline. They were very focused and excelled in their academic area of interest both in school coursework and with their EC. My kid did very well with college acceptances, but top grades and rigor are only 1 part of the 'holistic' admission process these days



Spit out the Kool-Aid.
Anonymous
Post 04/02/2025 14:32     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
In at HYPS, took 2+3+8+5 = 18 throughout high school. An additional 2 were self studied, for 20 in total.
Anonymous
Post 04/02/2025 13:25     Subject: Re:How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
Anonymous wrote:It’s interesting to me to see how this differs by region/school. We are in CT. I’m gathering from this board (which I find extremely informative despite not living in the DC area), there is increasing pressure to take more and more APs. People here seem to take fewer APs than their peers in the DC area. But still a lot, and that is increasing. I left that up to my kids. They knew they had to show the highest rigor that was appropriate for them and for the schools they aspired to. But I personally felt that they should balance that with their own decisions - ie, should they take the AP class but not sit for the AP test (and forgo college credit)? Yes. Bc one, I felt that AP classes will usually not be a real genuine substitute for the college equivalent, two - I felt that I wanted them to enjoy their Spring semesters junior and senior years of HS and not cram for AP tests, and three - sometimes placing out of an introductory class via AP credit is not the best idea, depending on the student. For some people, it is completely understandable that earning a lot of AP credits can be a great financial decision. These are just my thoughts Further, I personally and my kids too, hate the pressure on these HS kids to take double digit AP classes. A big factor in college admissions is how the student takes advantage of what is offered in their particular HS. So if you are in a HS where the top students take 13 APs… for us, for our children’s decisions, leading with what they judged was best for them given their environment, worked well. One ED’d to a target and one is at a top 15 fwiw. They are very happy with their choices. Taking more APs didn’t seem to affect their outcomes. But they had (like many many others) very good applications/stas/LORs etc etc.


My DC’s school requires them to take the AP test. This is pretty common. Some schools allow you to skip the AP test, but then you don’t get the extra point on your GPA.
Anonymous
Post 04/02/2025 13:21     Subject: Re:How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
It’s interesting to me to see how this differs by region/school. We are in CT. I’m gathering from this board (which I find extremely informative despite not living in the DC area), there is increasing pressure to take more and more APs. People here seem to take fewer APs than their peers in the DC area. But still a lot, and that is increasing. I left that up to my kids. They knew they had to show the highest rigor that was appropriate for them and for the schools they aspired to. But I personally felt that they should balance that with their own decisions - ie, should they take the AP class but not sit for the AP test (and forgo college credit)? Yes. Bc one, I felt that AP classes will usually not be a real genuine substitute for the college equivalent, two - I felt that I wanted them to enjoy their Spring semesters junior and senior years of HS and not cram for AP tests, and three - sometimes placing out of an introductory class via AP credit is not the best idea, depending on the student. For some people, it is completely understandable that earning a lot of AP credits can be a great financial decision. These are just my thoughts Further, I personally and my kids too, hate the pressure on these HS kids to take double digit AP classes. A big factor in college admissions is how the student takes advantage of what is offered in their particular HS. So if you are in a HS where the top students take 13 APs… for us, for our children’s decisions, leading with what they judged was best for them given their environment, worked well. One ED’d to a target and one is at a top 15 fwiw. They are very happy with their choices. Taking more APs didn’t seem to affect their outcomes. But they had (like many many others) very good applications/stas/LORs etc etc.
Anonymous
Post 04/02/2025 12:43     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
Anonymous wrote:DMV public 11 ap , and 5 or 6 DE More than enough for most colleges ivy’s and public’s


That sounds like the "average" sweet spot formula, 10-12 AP's which covers the sciences, English, histories and math. The dual enrollment indicative of the recignition that you maxed out rigor at your high school and sought out more challenges.

Anything less and you put yourself at disadvantage.
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 22:42     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
DMV public 11 ap , and 5 or 6 DE More than enough for most colleges ivy’s and public’s
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 22:39     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:6 APs, private in at Yale.


Legacy or donor applicant?


Or sports recruit?
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 22:38     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
First Kid: 12
Second Kid: 14

Both accepted to T10/T20 schools.
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 22:32     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
Anonymous wrote:6 APs, private in at Yale.


Legacy or donor applicant?
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 22:08     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
Anonymous wrote:Zero AP courses for my private school kid. Imo, the biggest perk and privlege of private school is the absence of the toxic expectation to take max AP courses. Many AP course curriculums are restrictive, fast paced and dont allow deeper dive into complex topics. Kids often have multiple test retakes which inflates grades. I don't think AP is a reasonable benchmark. We know so many public kids with 4.0 gpa and all AP. Lots of grade inflation so kids kill themselves to get top grades, but when so many have perfect grades, their value is diluted. All AP does not guarantee t20 college. The only AP curriculum winner is College Board that makes lots of $$$ selling the program and tests. Without AP mania, my kid took many advanced classes but not in every discipline. They were very focused and excelled in their academic area of interest both in school coursework and with their EC. My kid did very well with college acceptances, but top grades and rigor are only 1 part of the 'holistic' admission process these days


Same for mine. NYC privates don't do AP. Child was accepted to a top NYC SHSAT school and we opted for private. We are very privileged to have the means to pay for it. But I am so glad we did not deal with this.

The fact that kids are taking multiple APs as freshmen and getting straight fives says to me that they have been greatly diluted from the 90s when I took them. Are colleges really impressed by this? At some point I feel like it is gluttony.
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 21:04     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
6 APs, private in at Yale.
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 21:02     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
7
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 19:39     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
13. 7 as of time of application with 5 5s.
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 18:50     Subject: How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
Anonymous wrote:One of my friend's kid took 18 APs almost all 5s and did not get into any T20. Also was NMSF and had 1590 SAT.

These kinds of questions are silly!


Asian-American Male?
Anonymous
Post 04/01/2025 18:44     Subject: Re:How many APs did you top 20 admit have?
8 APs with scores of 5s when they applied. 12 APs when they graduated HS.

1 as freshman , 3 as sophomore, 4 as junior and 4 as senior. They applied to colleges with 8 APs with 5s under their belt, at least one in every core subject.

Kids and I had planned their entire HS academic journey before they started HS because of their EC commitments, and so they were able to excel in a very rigorous STEM HS program without too much stress. No point in making your kids HS life a hell. If you are aiming for high stats for college admission purposes then plan out the work and support a few years before applications.